The approach to anchorage of Port Elizabeth is dead simple. Coming from the South you come around the most western point, line up on a course of 90o, pick your position and put the brakes on. The only three items of concern are the swell, the wind and whether the anchorage is blocked by sailing… read more of “30 December 2010;…”

This country; which main island is Trinidad stands with one foot in the Caribbean and with one foot in South America. At the same time it is a real melting pot of different nationalities and races resulting in a country that is totally different than its neighbors. This call was also our most southern point… read more of “29 December 2010;…”

Arriving bright and early in a port has the advantage that there aren’t any yachts milling around……….and getting in the way……….. and the fishermen are just gearing up to go out and are not in the way either. Therefore the sea was empty of all traffic except for the larger commercial vessels and of those… read more of “28 December 2010;…”

Although the wind had nicely dissipated while sailing away from Antigua the long ocean swell was still there. That is not good for tendering of course and thus we needed a very good lee in the coming port as it was an anchor port. Terre de Haut in the Iles de Saintes was a new… read more of “27 December 2010;…”

It turned out that the predicted wind was the least of my worries. It was the millionaires who were bothering me this time. Unbeknown to the poor paupers of this world, which includes of course a poor cruise ship captain; St Barts is a special gathering place for the Rich and Famous on Boxing Day…. read more of “26 December;…”

We had our Christmas Carol concert and it went down very well. I am now in the cruise business for nearly 30 years with approx. 15 or more Christmases at sea and this was one of the very good ones. Whether it is because the show lounge is ideal for this or whether the Prinsendam… read more of “25 December 2010;…”

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU. Sorry for the delay in uploading but due to the heavy snowfall in the NE of the USA, all our connections were down, as the home station had snowed in. Hence no upload yesterday. Still all of us on the Prinsendam wish you all the best for the festive… read more of “25 December 2010;…”

Today was a planned day at sea and tomorrow as well. The latter will now be changed into an afternoon call in St. Maarten. The weather, read wind, is slowly improving by getting less, however the long ocean swell is still with us. Occasionally there is a longer and higher wave among the others and… read more of “24 December 2010;…”